


Tick Tock

by oceanic (jangmun)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Angst, M/M, Steampunk AU, baekhyun is a clockwork expert, chanyeol is mentioned in passing, mysterious stranger kyungsoo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:28:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25006189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jangmun/pseuds/oceanic
Summary: Kyungsoo makes Baekhyun tick(ed).
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Do Kyungsoo | D.O
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13
Collections: Challenge #4 — Into the Future





	Tick Tock

Baekhyun wouldn’t call himself an expert.

He can admit when he makes mistakes, misidentifies a certain piece of work or when something is out of his range of skills. His father gave him as much knowledge as he could, given the short six years Baekhyun spent under his guidance.

Ideally, he could’ve had over a decade with his father to learn the ins and outs of most clocks, most toys, from ancient relics dug up from the rubble, to more modern day clockwork. But five years ago, their town was raided, and as his father attempted to save the shop, he was killed.

Baekhyun’s been learning from a traveling clockwork man since then, who visits every so often to check in on the shop and give Baekhyun tips, or more likely, criticisms. However, he’s done a good job living up to his father and keeping track of their vast collection of vintage and ancient clockwork.

Their biggest loss besides his father is his father’s old pocket watch. When the raiders were defeated (though they did manage to steal some things), Baekhyun had searched his father for the watch, finding no trace of it. Not even the chain.

The bell above the shop door rings, pulling Baekhyun out of his work, and through the semi-distorted vision of his goggles he can see a complete stranger standing in the entrance way. Tugging the mask off, Baekhyun hurriedly goes over to greet the new patron. “Hello! Welcome to—“

“Are you Mr. Byun?” The stranger’s eyes widen. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to talk over you.”

Baekhyun turns his head to the side. He really must be a stranger, seeing as no one calls him Mr. Byun— it’s a title reserved only for his father. “You can just call me Baekhyun.”

“Baekhyun… can you fix this pocket watch I have?” The stranger pulls it from his pocket, willingly handing it over.

Baekhyun inspects the damage of it first— a few scratches and dents in the frame, the glass is completely shattered and one of the hands is missing, and the back is gone entirely. Something is oddly comforting about the length of the chain, about the way the clock fits so familiarly in his palm. “It’s seen better days.”

“Uh… yeah.” The stranger pauses. “Think you could fix it?”

“Could? You came to the right clockwork shop.” Baekhyun excitedly sits down at his desk again, pulling his mask back on. “Say, what’s your name?”

“Kyungsoo.”

Baekhyun nods, pulling out his tools and spare parts box. He’s sure to have one of the short hands around to replace— aha. “What brought you to this shop, specifically?”

Kyungsoo shrugs. “Just a recommendation.”

“Perhaps you know Chanyeol?”

“Who?”

“Ah… never mind then.” Baekhyun screws the little hand back into the face, making sure it’s tight enough to stay in, but loose enough to maneuver. Turning the pocket watch to the back, he finds there’s no battery component— something that was common for ancient pocket watches.

He isn’t sure if his mind is playing tricks on him or if it’s really inside the back of the watch, but he swears he sees his father’s engraving. “Can you bring me that tray over there, by that colorful box? No— yes that one.”

Kyungsoo sets the box down, and Baekhyun immediately rummages through it, finding a battery that he hopes works. Surely enough, placing it into the back of the pocket watch it starts ticking. Looking up at one of his working clocks, he spins the dial to set the time. At least that works. “So is it working now?”

“Just need a back.” Fortunately he has a few spares, and it only takes him a few tests to find a good enough fit.

He replaces the glass, taking off his mask again to admire the handiwork. As his vision comes back to him, he notices the jumper rings still attached to the chain where it meets the frame. His father’s pocket watch had a few things hanging from it— their family symbol, an old gear, and a random trinket from the past.

Baekhyun isn’t ready to hand the watch back yet. “Where did you say you found this?”

“I never— I found it in this rubble pile.” Baekhyun hums, tapping on the table a few times. “Is something wrong?”

“Where was this rubble pile?”

Kyungsoo sighs. “Look, if you’re done fixing the watch could you just hand it over? I don’t have all day to be interrogated for a stupid pocket watch.”

“It isn’t a stupid pocket watch.”

“Right, whatever, this ‘precious treasure of the past’, my bad.”

_ “Do you see this pocket watch, boy? It’s from the ancient times, when there was no need for these things. It’s a precious treasure of the past.” _

Baekhyun doesn’t want to believe Kyungsoo has other motivations for coming to  _ his _ clockwork shop specifically. Truly, he doesn’t, but something isn’t adding up. “Where did you really find this? Was it really a pile of rubble, or did some raider pawn it off to you because it was no longer valuable?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Baekhyun pulls the back of the pocket watch off again, turning it around to show Kyungsoo the engraving that is most certainly there. “This watch belonged to my father. He died five years ago, and this was taken from him. I’ve been searching for this for five years, and you just suddenly show up with it? Why?”

Kyungsoo shakes his head. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about. I just found it, saw the ‘Byun’ in it and asked around until I was told about your shop. I didn’t know it was anything special.”

“Well it is.”

“I’m sorry.” Kyungsoo steps closer, until he can rest his hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder. “You can keep it, if it means that much to you.”

Baekhyun clutches the pocket watch tighter, relief that he finally has something other than the shop left of his father.


End file.
